Vampire
The Vampire is a Basic Legendary unit, with a similar movement pattern to that of the Legionary. This means that this unit can move and attack any adjacent space similar to a King, and has additional option for attack only, available 2-3 spaces away in both the cardinal and diagonal directions. This attack pattern exactly mimics the Legionary++ when the Vampire is not upgraded. Each upgrade increases the distance the Vampire can attack by 1 in all eight directions. A Vampire+++ can therefore travel up to 6 spaces away in any direction to attack, which is only one space less than the Queen. Abilities The Vampire has two unique abilities: to steal morale, and to demote himself to escape. On any kill a Vampire makes, the enemy morale will be reduced by the amount ordinarily lost for the cost of the unit, plus an additional amount dependent on the vampire's upgrade level (beginning at 2 and increasing by 1 per level, up to 5). This additional amount is then added to the morale value of a user's King (or to the Vampire itself if there is no King), increasing the player's total morale. This is a table to assist with comprehension about evaluating what trades are good for this piece for you. The costs for each Vampire have been bolded. The ability of a Vampire to demote itself is intended as a means to escape when otherwise impossible. A Vampire using this ability has a range 3 spaces away in an L-shape (the pattern of how a Knight attacks) will permanently turn into a Bat (of the same tier, regardless the text). Movement options for this ability are added only at the third promotion, and the ability additionally has a range 6 spaces away in an L-shape like two Knight moves in the same direction. This move is uniquely considered to be unstoppable, meaning that it can still activate even when frozen or petrified. If the enemy's side is safe to move into and it is desired that the Vampire move to one of those transform locations, it can demote to a Bat freely and then immediately promote back into a Vampire on the same turn, such that it will never actually become a Bat, a surrogate teleport. If your morale would decrease below 0 in the middle of this transformation you will not lose. Note: Vampire currently has the only ‘unstoppable’ ability, which is the function of an ‘unblockable’ ability that also allows use even if frozen/petrified. __TOC__ Strategy: The Vampire is a powerful unit to quickly take an advantage in morale. If one can get enough morale compared to the opponent, they can trade pieces until the opponent has none left and loses by default. The Vampire's similar move patter to the Legionary makes it useful in the same situations, namely protection several other pieces at once. It should be grouped together with other close range units that can protect each other, and break away to attack pieces when safe to do so. Because the morale stealing ability is not affected by the value of the unit it kills, it is ideal for the Vampire to attack unprotected minions. If the Vampire becomes surrounded while stealing morale, it can turn into a Bat (of the same tier, regardless the text) and hide on its own side as the battle plays on, keeping in mind the morale advantage it will have ideally accrued will allow for high-risk, offensive play. During this, the user should play highly offensively to trade pieces whenever possible, to clear the board as much as possible and potentially disorient the opponent. The now low value Bat will likely not be a priority target, and can safely be ignored as pieces are taken. Once the board has been cleared, the Bat is safe to move to the enemy's side to promote back into a Vampire, where it can be used to finish the match. Strength: When attacking, one of the most mobile units in the game, being able to kill almost as effectively as a Queen. This comes with the added bonus of being able to escape even the most difficult circumstances, especially considering the reduced value (and therefore reduced benefit to enemy for killing) it has once transformed. Its morale drain can also work over a long game to ultimately easily defeat the opponent, potentially even without a checkmate. Weakness: The Vampire is as slow as a King when not attacking, and almost as vulnerable if the enemy's pieces are effectively protected. Though it is easy for it to escape most situations, especially given the value it loses when doing so, promoting a Bat back into a Vampire is almost impossible until near the end of a game, and even then is often difficult to do so without some losses. Strategy: Upgrades Because the Vampire is a relatively complex unit, there are more advantages gained from each upgrade compared to most other pieces. In general, three factors are each improved by one with each upgrade. These are the attack range of the Vampire, the strength of its ability to steal morale, and the mobility of the Bat that it transforms into. The linear nature for the increase in range and morale make them seem less dramatic for each upgrade, but Bats become significantly more mobile with each upgrade. This is clarified per each upgrade in the following sections. + The first upgrade for the Vampire makes it significantly stronger increasing its attack range from 3 to 4, and dramatically increases it's morale stealing ability from 2 to 3. This comes to a 33% increase in range, and 50% increase in its morale steal. The increase in the mobility of its related Bat+ is an extra move space in the four adjacent diagonal spaces, which is useful for the Bat's survivability, but less so for its promotion back into a Vampire+. ++ The second upgrade for the Vampire is similar to the first, with now a 25% increase in attack range and 33% increase in morale steal compared to a Vampire+. The improvement for this upgrade is more significant for the Bat than the first upgrade, allowing the Bat++ to teleport 2 spaces vertically and 3 horizontally. Along with allowing it to escape more situations, the increased vertical range makes it easier to re-promote a Bat++ to a Vampire++. +++ Again with diminishing returns, the third upgrade brings in only a 20% increase to attack range and 25% increase to morale steal. That is not to suggest these upgrades are in anyway ignorable, however, as the Vampire+++ steals 5 morale per kill and has almost full board coverage. There are large improvements for the transformation in this upgrade, where the Bat+++ can anywhere from 4-7 spaces away to the opponent's side of the board for an immediate promotion, especially useful if the opponent has no Paladin. The Bat+++ can also easily go from one side of the board to the other horizontally as well. The ease of getting a Bat+++ promoted even allows for an early game promotion if possible, where if the space it is promoted is protected, the opponent will likely be forced to kill the new Vampire+++ and lose a champion in the process. Additionally, there are eight more spaces for the Vampire to transform in this upgrade, which are essentially if a Knight were to move in the same pattern twice same movement spaces as Demon++, a piece very difficult to pin down. This means that there are two spots four spaces upward from the Vampire, which can be used to teleport and instantly promote back into a Vampire behind the enemy's minion line from halfway across the board, especially useful if the enemy King is vulnerable. Trivia * The Vampire has a unique sound effect for capturing units. * When the Vampire uses its Bat transformation, the move summary at the top of the screen reveals the internal names of the pieces. A Vampire++ will show "Vampire++ Transforms Bat3". * If you obtain two kings by means of Envy, the morale will only be given to your original king. This is very hidden information.